Actually I will use google to find places to buy obscure items. If it did not return shopping sites I would lose this valuable search feature. If none of the major online retailers have what I am looking for, I just type it into google.
The Tech Report also notes that the LiteOn LTR-52246S that they compared the Plextor to, costs over $50 less and is just as fast. So if you don't need the compressed CD's that don't work in most other drives. This is a good high end drive for bargain hunters. (They noted a price of $43).
Or for $50 more than the Plextor go and get a DVD-RW drive.
Quote:"but thats not good enough for you. if aint on NASA's page, its not good methodology? if it was, would it be?"
The headline says "NASA Benchmarks the New G5 Powermac", it does not say "Hey some guy benchmarks the new G5".
A misleading headline to be sure.
And yes if a team at NASA benchmarked computers using programs that they use for science, I would find that a million times more credible than some guy posting benchmarks on his homepage.
Steve Jobs also noted in his speech that the new G5 outperforms a comparable Xeon system on the all imporant "Duke Nukem Forever" time demo. Attaining the impressive score of 233fps compared to just 147fps on the Intel system. As verified by the idependent test lab Pixar Studios.
"What happens when every game follows a tried and true formula?"
We get games we like. The most anticipated game of the year is Doom3. Why? Because we like those kinds of games. Innovative does always not equal good or fun. The main reason these innovative games are not selling is... well... they suck.
Tried and True formulas get that way because we play the game, we like the game, and now we want more of the same. Not to mention that when a new inovative game is fun and sells well then of course there will be several sequels. Nothing wrong with that. You don't always need to reinvent the wheel.
Now that they have "patched" 3DMark so that the NVIDIA cards don't run it as fast, I wonder why I would want to use this program on anything but an ATI card.
Thier comment that the benchmark ran great on the released version but showed errors on the unreleased private devleoper version is like saying "Well it may get 120fps in QuakeIII but if you run it on Super Secret unreleased QuakeIII beta 2 it has errors"
If I have an NVIDIA, S3, Matrox, etc. and they did not pay for the FutureMark beta program then these cards may not be compatible at all. It's almost like a game that only runs on a Playstation and not a Nintendo.
I think this will be the end of 3DMark as a reliable or even relevant benchmark and hopefully we will see more sites use a wider variety of games to showcase new video cards.
BTW how did ExtremeTech (The website that found the "cheat") get thier hands on the developer copy of 3DMark. It costs thousands to be part of the beta program? They must have great ad revenue.
I'm still waiting for a way to run OS X on an Athlon XP (or other x86) based system. We all know it can be done. I would like to try OSX but the cost of the hardware in addition to the software has been prohibitive. So until there is an x86 version I will have to wait for a cheap sys on EBay.
I have noticed lately that many of the companies that were DVD+RW "supporters" are now offering DVD-RW drives either separately or in Desktop\Notebook computers. Sony, TDK & HP all of which are listed as DVD+RW supporters have DVD-RW offerings. I wonder if they are starting to quietly shift formats. I also saw that the first "Blue Laser" product from Sony in only backwards compatible with -RW and not +RW.
Say what you will about MS.... But Dungeon Siege is to Diablo II what Quake was to Doom. Fully 3D. Better graphics, characters, game play and story. Plus the ability to control a large group instead of just one character.
The Springdale 865 chipset has started to show up in motherboards. The price in nearly $100 less. And the 2 chipsets are nearly identical as quoted from this article
"In many respects, the 875P is identical to Intel's forthcoming Springdale chipset, which will launch next month for the mainstream PC market. Both have an 800MHz FSB and offer support for dual-channel DDR400 memory, Serial ATA, AGP 8X, Gigabit Ethernet, and Intel's own Hyper-Threading technology. In fact, both chipsets are manufactured using the same.13-micron process. But only those components that pass Intel's stringent requirements, including optimum timing (Intel calls this Performance Acceleration Technology, or PAT), are qualified as 875P. Intel has different requirements for those components that will qualify as Springdale."
"NVIDIA Linux Update automatically detects the Linux operating system, kernel type, and CPU on a system and sets up the system for optimal performance and stability."
Sounds like the kind of easy driver setup windows users enjoy. I hope Creative follows this format and I can get my sound card working without hours of pain.
There has not been a new release of the stripped down Phoenix browser since December 7th. I notice that the nightly builds are still being updated. I hope they are not spending all this time trying to come up with a new name.
There are already 4 standards out trying to become the next DVD standard. One format is to use standard DVD discs and MPEG-4. The other is to use Blu-Ray discs to deliver HD-DVD using less compression for a better image.
Most people of course are in support of the new Blu-Ray discs but just like Beta\VHS and DVD-A\SACD there are competing formats that may delay the technology.
Slashdot Mirror
Actually I will use google to find places to buy obscure items. If it did not return shopping sites I would lose this valuable search feature. If none of the major online retailers have what I am looking for, I just type it into google.
"(although LotR had a special edition released only a few weeks before TTT)"
LOTR: The Two Towers Special Edition DVD - 8/26
LOTR: The Two Towers Extended Edition DVD - 11/18
LOTR: Return Of The King 12/17 Theatrical Release
The Tech Report also notes that the LiteOn LTR-52246S that they compared the Plextor to, costs over $50 less and is just as fast. So if you don't need the compressed CD's that don't work in most other drives. This is a good high end drive for bargain hunters. (They noted a price of $43).
Or for $50 more than the Plextor go and get a DVD-RW drive.
Quote:"but thats not good enough for you. if aint on NASA's page, its not good methodology? if it was, would it be?"
The headline says "NASA Benchmarks the New G5 Powermac", it does not say "Hey some guy benchmarks the new G5".
A misleading headline to be sure.
And yes if a team at NASA benchmarked computers using programs that they use for science, I would find that a million times more credible than some guy posting benchmarks on his homepage.
I could not find these benchmarks anywhere on NASA's site. The benchmarks are only posted on this persons personal home page.
Or could someone reply with a direct link to the NASA page instead of the guys ISP homepage.
Otherwise I can't take these benchmarks seriously at all.
Steve Jobs was quoted as saying "This is the fastest pyramid on the planet".
Steve Jobs also noted in his speech that the new G5 outperforms a comparable Xeon system on the all imporant "Duke Nukem Forever" time demo. Attaining the impressive score of 233fps compared to just 147fps on the Intel system. As verified by the idependent test lab Pixar Studios.
However SCO has sued to challenge these results.
"What happens when every game follows a tried and true formula?"
We get games we like. The most anticipated game of the year is Doom3. Why? Because we like those kinds of games. Innovative does always not equal good or fun. The main reason these innovative games are not selling is... well... they suck.
Tried and True formulas get that way because we play the game, we like the game, and now we want more of the same. Not to mention that when a new inovative game is fun and sells well then of course there will be several sequels. Nothing wrong with that. You don't always need to reinvent the wheel.
Now that they have "patched" 3DMark so that the NVIDIA cards don't run it as fast, I wonder why I would want to use this program on anything but an ATI card.
Thier comment that the benchmark ran great on the released version but showed errors on the unreleased private devleoper version is like saying "Well it may get 120fps in QuakeIII but if you run it on Super Secret unreleased QuakeIII beta 2 it has errors"
If I have an NVIDIA, S3, Matrox, etc. and they did not pay for the FutureMark beta program then these cards may not be compatible at all. It's almost like a game that only runs on a Playstation and not a Nintendo.
I think this will be the end of 3DMark as a reliable or even relevant benchmark and hopefully we will see more sites use a wider variety of games to showcase new video cards.
BTW how did ExtremeTech (The website that found the "cheat") get thier hands on the developer copy of 3DMark. It costs thousands to be part of the beta program? They must have great ad revenue.
I'm still waiting for a way to run OS X on an Athlon XP (or other x86) based system. We all know it can be done. I would like to try OSX but the cost of the hardware in addition to the software has been prohibitive. So until there is an x86 version I will have to wait for a cheap sys on EBay.
I am glad to see Gnome has not bowed to market pressure and released the latest version as Gnome 3.
Unlike Mandrake 9 and MSN 8. None of which had version 1.0, 2.0, 3.0 etc. They just upped the numbers to match their competitor. (RedHat 9, AOL 8).
I have noticed lately that many of the companies that were DVD+RW "supporters" are now offering DVD-RW drives either separately or in Desktop\Notebook computers. Sony, TDK & HP all of which are listed as DVD+RW supporters have DVD-RW offerings. I wonder if they are starting to quietly shift formats. I also saw that the first "Blue Laser" product from Sony in only backwards compatible with -RW and not +RW.
Say what you will about MS.... But Dungeon Siege is to Diablo II what Quake was to Doom. Fully 3D. Better graphics, characters, game play and story. Plus the ability to control a large group instead of just one character.
I was thinking about the scene in the Fellowship, where Sauron takes a swing at the oncoming army and wipes out the first couple rows.
What an evil thrill that would be in an online game.
An added bonus would be warping the minds of weak willed hobbits.
Newegg.com
MSI Motherboard with 865PE Chipset $105
The Springdale 865 chipset has started to show up in motherboards. The price in nearly $100 less. And the 2 chipsets are nearly identical as quoted from this article
.13-micron process. But only those components that pass Intel's stringent requirements, including optimum timing (Intel calls this Performance Acceleration Technology, or PAT), are qualified as 875P. Intel has different requirements for those components that will qualify as Springdale."
"In many respects, the 875P is identical to Intel's forthcoming Springdale chipset, which will launch next month for the mainstream PC market. Both have an 800MHz FSB and offer support for dual-channel DDR400 memory, Serial ATA, AGP 8X, Gigabit Ethernet, and Intel's own Hyper-Threading technology. In fact, both chipsets are manufactured using the same
Was'nt Ned Flanders wife killed by one of these?
I set my computer up as a Legacy Free PC by disabling the serial ports, parallel port, ps/2 mouse, gameport & floppy controller in the bios.
From the NVIDIA Linux update.
"NVIDIA Linux Update automatically detects the Linux operating system, kernel type, and CPU on a system and sets up the system for optimal performance and stability."
Sounds like the kind of easy driver setup windows users enjoy. I hope Creative follows this format and I can get my sound card working without hours of pain.
There has not been a new release of the stripped down Phoenix browser since December 7th. I notice that the nightly builds are still being updated. I hope they are not spending all this time trying to come up with a new name.
Seems a lot of these movies are coming out on April 1st.
Powered by AMD
Set to 1Ghz for Hamburger or 2Ghz for a steak.
from article on CNN....
"Park Forest Police Department said about 60 pieces of space rock ranging from gravel-sized to softball-sized were brought in to the police station."
Have you seen what these are going for on EBAY. Sell, Sell, Sell
There are already 4 standards out trying to become the next DVD standard. One format is to use standard DVD discs and MPEG-4. The other is to use Blu-Ray discs to deliver HD-DVD using less compression for a better image.
Most people of course are in support of the new Blu-Ray discs but just like Beta\VHS and DVD-A\SACD there are competing formats that may delay the technology.
Click here to support ONE HD-DVD FORMAT
And of course when you combine their server (NT) with the Desktop (ME) and portable OS (CE) you get predictable results
CE-ME-NT --- Cement.